Miss Delaware's Crown Revoked Because She Is Too Old

Less than two weeks after Amanda Longacre was crowned Miss
Delaware, the 24-year-old was stripped of her crown and
scholarships.

The crown controversy was caused because the Miss America
Organization says contestants must be 17 to 24 years old, and
Longacre will turn 25 in October.

But Longacre was truthful about her age from the start, telling NBC's "Today Show" this morning that
"My birthday was written on the contract, which the board
signed off on, and allowed me to compete."

Longacre insists that the board signed off on
her contract on a local, state, and national level
— and it wasn't until Tuesday that she was
notified her age was an issue.

"I am so upset because I was
stripped of my crown over an age clause that clearly my state
didn't even know about," Longacre continued through tears. "And
so I'm left here wondering why I was even put in this position to
begin with."

Not only was Longacre stripped
of her crown, but also the prizes associated with her
brief title, including an $11,000 scholarship.

But the Miss America
organization has already moved on, crowning first runner-up Brittany Lewis, 24, the new winner in a brief ceremony
Thursday night.

The Miss America organization said in a press release
Thursday: "Following the Miss Delaware Pageant, it was
determined that Amanda Longacre exceeded the age requirement in
order to be eligible to compete. Therefore, the Miss Delaware
2014 title is awarded to Brittany Lewis." They then tweeted:

Longacre responded to the announcement by telling "Today,"
"It's like they're trying to erase me in a way, like it never
happened, and it's not fair because I won outright and I deserve
to represent my state. I want this chance still to go to Miss
America."

As for next steps, Longacre says, "I am speaking with an
attorney right now and we are discussing the options."